United Polaris (business class) has many great amenities, but some you have to ask for.
An Award Expert client just returned from a trip on the new 777-300ER from HKG-SFO and raved about how much she enjoyed the experience.
I asked her if she enjoyed the memory foam gel pillow.
What gel pillow?
And the pajamas?
What pajamas?
And the slippers?
What slippers?
And the mattress pad?
What mattress pad?
I’m not joking.
Even with the elimination of one pillow, the United Polaris (business class) bedding remains one of the best in the business, if not the best. But some amenities are not proactively offered.
On your menu card, there is a little “At your request” blurb which specifies amenities available on your flight. On all Polaris flights, mattress pads, slippers, and a memory foam gel pillow are available upon request. On flights over 12 hours, pajamas are also available.
Citing both space concerns and lack of demand, there are not enough of these items loaded for everyone, hence the necessity of making a request.
CONCLUSION
This was a savvy client, actually: a world traveler who frequently flies business class to Asia. So if she was fooled, chances are you may be as well.
The amenities are wonderful in Polaris. Don’t forget to ask for them!
Insufficient space to load enough for everyone is bullcrap and we all know it. They’re saving money and hope that flyers (like your client) don’t know enough to ask. It’s great that bloggers like you are around to spread the word.
how do you know which flights are Polaris vs regular biz seats? I want to check out Polaris!!
Currently, the new Polaris seat is only on the 777-300ER, operating from SFO-HKG and EWR-TLV. All longhaul flights have Polaris soft product.
I just flew ORD to LHR on united business and was told when I asked for a mattress pad and pillow that they were only for first class. maybe United is scaling back? disappointed.
When are you supposed to ask for this? Is it when you first sit down for PDB?